Traditional leaders organisation, Contralesa has welcomed the signing of the National Health Insurance into law.
Contralesa says NHI should address the challenges faced by the public health sector.
Contralesa president Kgosi Larmec Mokoena says they hope the NHI will also help in addressing the shortage of doctors, nurses and medication in public hospitals.
“Contralesa welcome the signing in to law the national health insurance by the president. Contralesa hopes this will do away with the medical facility for the rich and the medical facility for the poor. We will appreciate if this will deal with the poor infrastructure in many of our hospitals. We hope it will also address the shortage of medication in our clinics and hospitals. It will also do away or deal with the shortage of doctors in many of our hospitals. Contralesa will only celebrate if all our challenges are addressed,” says Mokoena.
DA Chief Whip Siviwe Gwarube says the Act will not lead to the realisation of quality healthcare for all South Africans.
She says the health department will not be able to implement the Act and the centralisation of the scheme will make it susceptible to corruption.
“We believe that the centralisation of the pool of funds to manage an NHI fund that will be managed by a minister will not only hinder the ability for people to actually access healthcare in terms of Section 27, but also, will open up the fund to significant corruption. We’ve seen with Digital Vibes and the former minister and what happened there. And we’re of the belief that we can make this plea to the court that one, the department is not going to be able to implement the progressive realisation of quality healthcare to South Africans if this Bill comes to enactment.”
NHI Bill | Panel discussion on how it will work and who will fund it:
